Finland's Electric RaceAbout (E-RA) has set a new world record for fastest electric vehicle on ice achieving an average speed of 252.09 km/h (156.67 mph).

Finland's Electric RaceAbout (E-RA) has set a new world record for fastest electric vehicle on ice achieving an average speed of 252.09 km/h (156.67 mph). Despite the achievement the record is not an "Official Guinness World Record" as a class does not yet exist for this type of record. The Guinness organization was not involved in certifying the test.

The event took place Saturday 17 March 2012 on the frozen Lake Ukonjärvi in northern Finland with Nokian Tires test driver Janne Laitinen at the wheel. Required to drive one kilometer in both directions in under 6 minutes, Laitinen was able to hit 260.06 km/h (161.63 mph) according to GPS based speed measurement device VBOX from Racelogic.

In the early morning hours the conditions were extremely slippery and the ice was very hard but as the day progressed conditions turned favorable with slightly softened track surface, very little wind and an air temperature of -4 degress C. The E-RA was fitted with Nokian Hakkapeliitta 7 studded tires sized 225/40R18.

The E-RA has a 33 kWh Altairnano lithium-titanate battery which powers four-electric motors that develop a peak output of 383 PS (282 kW / 378 bhp) and 3,200 Nm (2,360 lb-ft) of torque. This enables the 1,700 kg (3,747 lb) prototype to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in approximately six seconds and travel approximately 200 km (124 miles) on a single charge. At top speed the E-RA consumed around 1250 Wh/km measured as energy required from grid to recharge the battery.

The E-RA is an ongoing research project by the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Previously, the Electric RaceAbout (E-RA) set a new street-legal electric vehicle lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.